Could Food Shortages Bring Down Civilization (S 25)

This reading discusses some of the main problems that are involved in our current worldwide agricultural system. The biggest problem is food supply, and within that there are the smaller individual problems; lack of water, loss or topsoil and extremely high uses of ethanol oil (fuel for cars). The reading emphasizes the urgency of this problem by predicting how the next few years may play out worldwide. Many third world countries are already experiencing the effects of the lack of food (grain) currently available. The biggest and hardest problem for humans to conquer is the worldwide water shortage. Next humans are faced with the challenge of topsoil loss due to over farming certain areas, and not giving agricultural soils enough time to recover before the next crop is planted. Lastly the extremely high use of ethanol oil for fuels in cars is taking up a huge amount of resources that could be used for food production if we had a renewable energy system. The author states “plan B” which consists of; cutting back fuel emissions immensely, stabilizing the worlds population, the eradication of poverty and the restoration of solid, forests and aquifers as our only option for the future.

The demand for food is becoming much greater then the supply. With population rates increasing, and resources decreasing we as humans are setting ourselves up for disaster. Much like many of the worlds current global problems, we are running out of time to make our move before the problem becomes irreversible. Something needs to be done now. The effects of this worldwide food shortage will be apparent in every country due to the constant trade of food between all nations. The worst outcome of this food shortage is competition. Countries may be competing for food, competing to stay alive and that often leads to war. Countries have already started to try and make contracts with each other in order to help ensure that they will have enough food over the years to come. The worst effects can only be prevented if the world as a whole makes a movement towards using less fuel, and using better farming practices. Fuel reduction can be made by converting our energy system to a renewable one. Better farming practices include allowing water tables to replenish before draining them, this may mean that we eat grains that require less water for production. Also, farmers must learn to cherish topsoil by allowing for soil recovery in between crops and planting more trees to help prevent winds from carrying topsoil away. 

This map represents the soil degradation worldwide, as you can see the "stable soil" is very limited.

Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis (S 23)

This reading talks about the various drivers of climate change. The reading is made up mostly of facts, numbers and graphs comparing recent years to previous centuries. Firstly, the reading talks about carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide levels have had the most prominent change in recent history. The reading also talks about methane levels increasing in recent history. Methane levels rising are a result of agricultural practices. Next the article talks about the steady rising sea levels, global temperature and the steady downfall of snow in the arctic. The reading states that the more changes have been seen from 1995-2005 than all the way from 1960-1995, this is mainly due to our extremely high use of fossil fuels in recent years. As a result of climate change, weather has been much more extreme in recent years and there have been “highs and lows seen like never before”. The reading also states that even though most of the climate changes are due to human activities, the earth does have natural changes on its own so we cannot be certain that ALL changes are human induced. 

Below is a graph that shows the direct correlation between the rise of carbon dioxide emissions and temperature over the past 1000 years.

This pie chart represents the leading contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in 2015. In the pie chart, it shows that carbon dioxide is the leading contributor (65%), followed by methane (16%).

This graph shows the methane increase over the past 1000 years.

This graph shows the sea level change, and the projected change due to climate change. 

The steps for preventing further climate change are beneficial in many other ways. One of the most innovative ideas to prevent climate change, is the plan for a renewable energy system. Regardless of if global warming is a serious issue or not; creating a renewable energy source is a much more economical decision in the long run. Also, we are not sure when the earths oil supply will run out, so creating a solution long before we run out of oil would be greatly beneficial. Furthermore, increased carbon dioxide levels are not good for human health regardless of if they are causing climate change. Too reduce methane levels, we would need to greatly reduce the number of animals that are produced each year for meat consumption. By greatly reducing the number of animals produced each year, we are decreasing the amount of “factory farms” where animals often suffer.

ExxonMobil Philip Cooney view on Global Warming

The video was cut a segment cut from an old episode of 60 minuets. Scientists James Hansen and Rick Piltz reveal how their scientific evidence was changed, in order to make climate change seem less serious. They discuss how all of their information regarding climate change was reviewed by the white house before being released to congress or the public. Words like “likely “ and “possible” were inserted with scientifically proven facts in order to make the information about climate change seem less dangerous. Furthermore, some of the information on James and Rick’s climate change reports was completely removed. Much of the changes were made by Phillip Cooney who was the editor on the counsel on environmental quality. After he resigned from the white house he was hired by Exxon Mobil.

This video was not a surprise to me, I have seen videos and articles revealing that similar information was trying to be hidden in the past. The video was from 2007, which is shocking and concerning because it is nearly 10 years later and information regarding climate change is still being hidden and improperly portrayed. In fact, many people are so convinced that climate change is a hoax that people have begun to create theories saying that scientist have been hiding the fact that global warming has stopped. Many people believe that the temperatures have stopped rising and that scientists are trying to continue a “false argument” in order to protect their reputations. What many people are not aware of, is that climate change does not always mean a warming of the full planet. European countries are actually getting colder as a result of climate change. Below is a graph of the Arctic sea ice decline since 1979, as you can see it has only gone down. This is a result of global warming. This graph shows that global warming as certainly not stopped in the past 15 years, and if anything it has sped up.

Below I have attached two articles claiming that global warming has stopped. This is concerning because many people are believing that since “global warming has stopped” we can continue using fossil fuels as our main energy source.  This is NOT the case. 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2425775/Climate-scientists-told-cover-fact-Earths-temperature-risen-15-years.html

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/06/05/hide-the-hiatus-how-the-climate-alarmists-eliminated-the-inconvenient-pause-in-the-global-warming/

Zoos

I believe it is unethical to keep the number of animals we currently keep locked up, as well as it is unethical to keep the animals in the size of confinement that we currently do. I believe zoos are great for the education of animals for younger kids. With that being said, much of the information that is taught in zoos can be taught similarly through pictures and videos. Zoos are very beneficial for the scientific information that is learned from the ability to closely monitor and study animals that are not as easily accessible in their natural habitat. Because of the scientific and educational benefits, I believe zoos should and will continue. However, I believe a change should be made to the regulations regarding the total number of Zoos. Currently we live in a world where almost all cities have at least one Zoo, and in my opinion this is far beyond overkill.

Below is a map of the major zoos in the United States followed by a map with the major zoos in Europe, as you can see many of the zoos are in an pointlessly close vicinity to each other. These are the two most populated areas for zoos worldwide and most of the other areas around the world have a much more limited number of zoos but none the less, these pictures show a overwhelming number of zoos extremely close to each other.

In my perfect world there would be a limited number of zoos with highly advanced facilities, making sure all animals are in an area of confinement as similar to their natural habitat as possible.  In my opinion there are far too many total zoos (far too many total animals kept in captivity). In my “perfect world”, I would implement a solution for limiting the number of animals kept in captivity, and create a maximum total number of zoo’s per country. Larger countries (geographically, not population) could have a maximum of three zoos, and smaller countries would have a maximum of two zoos. The zoos would be strategically placed, so all citizens are within reasonable travel distance of one zoo. By having a maximum number of zoos, the total number of animals kept in captivity would be greatly decreased. By having just two or tree facilities in each country; we could greater invest into creating a perfect habitat for the animals kept captive as well as have a much greater variety of animals at each individual location. The space each animal is living in would also be increased due to the greater investment into fewer facilities. Travel would be required to visit Zoos for some people, but just like many other things in our world (Disneyland or Seaworld for example), those who are most interested would take the time and money go and visit these state of the art facilities.

A Path to Sustainable Energy by 2030 (S 13)

A Path to Sustainable Energy by 2030 is the most interesting and innovative reading I have read in university thus far. The article explains an in-depth plan to convert the worlds energy to all renewable resources. The main energy sources would be from wind, water and the sun (commonly known as WWS). The energy would mainly be generated through solar panels, wind turbines (on land and at sea), as well as through hydro dams. Geothermal energy is also discussed as an option. However, geothermal energy is not as technologically advanced as the other energy source and this energy source is not as accessible and most likely will not be in use for many years. The authors break down the various hurdles that must be overcome in order for our earth to be run only by renewable energy sources. Firstly, the authors discuss the reliability that comes with using many different types of energy sources rather than relying on just one main source of energy. They discuss the efficiency of a renewable energy system compared to the energy system we currently use. The authors next tackle the cost of producing a new energy system, stating that due to the limited financial upkeep of the SSW system it is far more economical energy system in the long run. The resources required to produce many of the batteries that would be used in electrical cars and machines are limited so this is one of the few issues that may arise. The final and hardest problem to overcome with the WWS energy system is the political challenge of overturning the current energy system. Much of this political challenge is due to the extreme wealth of the oil companies that obviously do not want to be put out of business. 

Graph from: The Energy Collective - The worlds best thinkers on energy and climate

I believe the WWS energy system is the only option for our planet in the future. Much of the worlds population knows that a sustainable energy system would one day be implemented, however not nearly as many people understand the urgency for this system. The worlds environmental health is declining at such a quick rate that a serious change needs to be made now. The WWS plan is a near impeccable solution for fossil fuels which are one of the worlds greatest environmental hazards. The plan shows how easy the construction, organizing and implementing of a renewable energy system would be, however it is very difficult to get the world population as a whole “on board”.  I believe that if this plan was translated to all languages and explained in schools and universities worldwide, it would be very successful and a realistic goal to have a sustainable energy system by 2030. However, it is not as simple as it sharing this plan with everyone and getting everyone “on board”. The oil industry generates more then a trillion dollars worldwide each year and would like to continue doing so for as long as possible. Many of the major oil companies will do whatever it takes to keep this industry going, despite the factual evidence that shows the environmental harm that our current energy system is doing to the world’s health. So in order for our world to make a significant change to our energy systems we must ALL put a stop to these major corporations by spreading awareness, especially to those more vulnerable to false information in less developed countries. Many of the largest oil companies have been known to fund false “studies” that argue that climate change is not a result of the fossil fuel emission increase that came along with the industrial age. Below I have attached an article breaking down a “study” done by Willie Soon in which he argues that climate change is a result of the sun, not increased fossil fuels emission. This is just an example of one of many false studies done each year by scientists who have funded by major oil companies. 

Willie Soon "Study" 

Alberta Tar Sands Project (In-class blog question)

The Alberta tar sands projects is extremely environmentally damaging. One of the biggest and most intense environmental problems are the “tailing lakes”. The tailing lakes are filled with water that has been used in the separation process when purifying the oil that is produced. The water that has been used in the separation process is sent into the tailing lakes in order to “bring it back to its natural state”.  However, the water is toxic and has been known to cause many cancers. The tailing lakes are currently not a safe way of dealing with this “used” water. The tailing lakes are said to take up over 100 square kilometres of area and can be seen from space (picture below), not to mention they are known for damaging the entire water table of Alberta. Canada is one of the biggest exporters of oil in the world and I understand that closing this project will result in a huge economic loss. I believe if we want this economically beneficial project to continue we must work towards making an environmentally sustainable solution for the “used” water. I believe that if the Alberta tar sands projects wishes to continue BP, Chevron and the other oil companies involved in this project must commit to an environmentally sustainable plan to replace the tailing ponds. 

However there are also many other environmentally damaging aspects of the Alberta tar sands project, so I believe the best case scenario we end the project completely. I hope that in the near future Canada can increase our investments in wind power, solar power and all other renewable energy sources in order to power our own country. The economic loss of the closing of the Alberta tar sands project IS worth saving our environment. No matter how much income this project generates for our country, it will not matter if we cannot survive (or live here) due to the damaged environment. 

"The toxic tailing lakes are considered one of the largest human-made structures in the world and can be seen from space."  - Henry Waxman (D-CA), a senior member of Congress and chair of the powerful Congressional Commitee on Energy and Commerce.

Manitobas Food Systems (In-class blog question)

The food system in Manitoba is not currently not very strong. The city of Winnipeg does not have a large enough community supporting organic and locally sourced foods, so the prices on these products are often extremely high. If we want to see a change in price in organic foods, the Winnipeg community as a whole need to make a strong movement towards purchasing organic foods. In order to make any food system environmentally sustainable, the majority of food must be locally sourced. One of the biggest obstacles we face when trying to eat locally is our extremely long and intense winter conditions. The weather conditions we experience in wintertime make it impossible for us to grow many fruits and vegetables locally for over half of each year. In our growing season, the majority of our fields are used to produce grains and oilseeds. The “commercial food” grocery stores have set the standard to have all fruits and vegetables available all year round. The growing conditions are not constant enough for us to grow many of fruits and vegetables that we currently import. In order to break this “social norm” of having all fruits and vegetables available all year round, society needs to better understand that this is not possible in our climate. This concept must be more widely understood by Manitoban’s if we want to have an environmentally sustainable food system. The nutrition and taste of organic foods in Winnipeg is set at an extremely high standard, much alike everywhere else in North America.  Organic foods have been made available, however not at a price that most low income families can afford. I hope that moving forward we as a community in Winnipeg, can work towards an environmentally and economically sustainable food system.

Manitobans also heavily contributes to hog production, Canada is the 3^rd largest hog exporting country in the world and 60% of those hogs come from Manitoba. There are many environmental issues involved with such high rates of hog production due to the waste these animals create. Much of this waste is used as fertilizer for other agricultural practices. The main concern is nutrient runoff, which contaminates our lakes, streams and groundwater. ManitobaPork is working together with farmers and hog producers to protect our water.

Below is a link to the Environment Protection section of the ManitobaPork website, which has numerous videos explaining the different methods of environmental protection that are used in Manitoba. 

All videos in link below:

Environmental Protection Methods (ManitobaPork)